Editing Eastern Prickly Pear (section)

=== Northern Range Limit ===

[[File:O-humifusa-range-limit-by-rhodora.png|thumb|right|Map of Southern New England portraying proposed range limit for ''O. humifusa'' of 42&deg; N latitude and various known colonies.<ref name="rhodora">Wallace, Robert S., and David E. Fairbrothers. "The New England Distribution of ''Opuntia humifusa'' (Raf.) Raf." ''Rhodora: Journal of the New England Botanical Club''. 89.859 (1987): 327-332. Print. <http://ia600704.us.archive.org/20/items/cbarchive_35776_thenewenglanddistributionofopu9999/thenewenglanddistributionofopu9999.pdf>.</ref>]]An evaluation of documented ''Opuntia humifusa'' colonies of New England  and the Northern-Central United States (from earliest records to 1987) has demonstrated that the northern range limit of the species is approximately 42&deg; N latitude.<ref name="rhodora"></ref>  There are a few reports of ''O. humifusa'' found living north of this line of latitude, but such reports are scarce and possibly erroneous, either representing populations introduced by humans or misidentification of other, more-northerly cactus species for ''O. humifusa''.

The proposed northern range limit of 42&deg; N runs just south of Connecticut's northern border, such that the state contains a transitional region where ''O. humifusa'' thrives along the southern coastline but is almost never found in the northern half of the state.